Mining the Savkino deposit commenced in 2008 as an open pit, using conventional truck and shovel methods. The pit operates year-round, with two 12 hour shifts seven days per week. Open pit mining conditions are favourable and much of the intensely weathered rock was mined without drilling and blasting. The proportion of rock that requires drilling and blasting has increased now that the pit has advanced to depth. The soft friable nature of the ore can been observed in Plates 5 and 6

The open pit was designed considering the physical and mechanical properties of the host rocks with an inter-ramp angle ranging from 37º to 45º. The final bench height is 20 m with a face angle of 65º. The final pit design was 1.1 km along strike and 400 m wide. The maximum depth of the pit is planned to be 178 m.

No significant ground water inflow into the pit is anticipated until a depth of around 70 m from surface, below which inflow is estimated to be in the range of 350 m3 per hour to 480 m per hour.